Topic: Idol-Talk
Have you noticed that the contestants have been singing more current songs during the group numbers? Group 2 performed Ne Yo's "Closer" and Group 3 performed Katy Perry's "Hot N' Cold." American Idol has been criticized heavily these past few years for choosing older songs for group numbers and for having older mentors that the young demographic can't relate to or isn't excited about. It looks as though the producers are listening and willing to make those types of changes. Now we'll just have to wait and see if this year's mentors are younger or older.
There isn't much to talk about with regards to the group 3 results show, except that we found out who would be performing in the Wild Card round (which I will discuss below). I am really surprised that the judges didn't bring back Ju'Not Joyner. They could have given Tatiana's spot to him. And speaking of Tatiana, I just knew that she would be brought back. I don't recall if I mentioned that on Idol-Talk, but I have a feeling that this would happen. At least she didn't make it into the Top 12. Whoops, I'm getting ahead of myself.
American Idol Season 8: Wild Card Round
Airdate: Thursday, March 5, 2009 [8-9pm]
Even though this round was purely the judge's decisions and not by America's votes, I still wrote down my comments on each of the eight wild card performances, which you can read below:
- Jesse Langseth ["Tell Me Something Good"]: The song dragged her down. It didn't suit her at all. It didn't allow her to show off her voice. And what we heard of her voice - it wasn't perfect.
- Matt Giraud [Jackson 5's "Who's Loving You"]: I'm glad the judges brought him back, because he deserved a second chance after a not so good run on "Viva la Vida." What he performed tonight is what suits him best. Great voice and style.
- Megan Joy Corkrey ["Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"]: I predicted her to be in the Top 12 during Group 2. After that performance and this week's, she deserves to be in the Top 12. The vocals weren't perfect, as the judges said, but her voice is raw and original, which is what this show needs.
- Von Smith ["Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"]: He has a good voice, but this did nothing to help his chances. It's a great song, but it didn't make him stand out. A completely forgettable performance.
- Jasmine Murray ["Reflection"]: If you're given a second chance, don't sing a Christina Aguilera song unless you're going to make it not like the original. She has a great voice and showed off her beautiful voice, but I wasn't blown away, as the judges were.
- Ricky Braddy ["Superstition"]: In Group 1, I thought he might have a chance, but needed to stand out more. Tonight, he gave a karaoke performance that didn't help him. Wrong song and okay vocals.
- Tatiana Del Toro [Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love for You"]: She sang the same song in Group 1. If she wants a second chance, we need to hear what else she can sing. I think that automatically took her out of the running.
- Anoop Desai ["My Prerogative"]: I'm surprised he chose a song like this, but he showed personality, and there were moments where he showed how great his voice is.
Favorite Performances: Matt Giraud / Megan Joy Corkrey
Top 12 Predictions*: Matt Giraud / Megan Joy Corkrey / Anoop Desai
*I made these predictions during the commercial break before the judge's announced their decisions.
Jasmine Murray was the first to advance to the Top 12. I knew the judges loved her performance, but this got me worried of who wouldn't make it. After Ricky was cut, Megan and Tatiana were on stage together. Tatiana was her usual overdramatic self. But I'm glad that, ultimately, Megan was chosen. I always talk about being original and unique, and she is definitely that. After Jesse and Von were eliminated, Matt and Anoop were the only two left. At that point, I thought either one had a great chance, but really wanted Anoop to advance. Then it was decision time: Matt was in the Top 12, which meant Anoop was left on stage, with everyone shocked. Then Simon dropped the bombshell (we knew a shocker would be happening around the Top 12 week): Season 8 is going to have a Top 13, instead of a Top 12, which meant that Anoop filled out the final spot. If that hadn't happened, I would have only gotten two of three correct for my predictions. So, technically, since it did happen, I got all of my predictions correct. And don't you think that was annoying that Idol ran about four minutes over, even though it wasn't scheduled to do so. If a show will run over, many times it will be listed that way. But they didn't do that with this Idol episode. If they haven't gone to commercial right before the last decision, then they could have gotten over at 9pm.
Now we have our Top 12, er, 13: Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta, Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Lil Rounds, Scott McIntyre, Jorge Nunez, Jasmine Murray, Megan Joy Corkrey, Matt Giraud, and Anoop Desai.
This year's finalists will be taking on the music of Michael Jackson this coming up Tuesday, which should be interesting. And Kelly Clarkson and Kanye West will be performing (separately) during the results show. I can't wait to see Kelly perform "My Life Would Suck Without You." It will be my first time seeing her performing it. I have only listened to it online and seen that music video preview that was shown on American Idol a while back. Since they are having two singers, you can tell that they did that because they need to fill up an hour. But no matter, it should be fun to watch.
Before I go, I wanted to mention the effect that a Top 13 will have on the rest of the season. If they were to eliminate one a week, I was thinking that it would mess up when the season ends. My thought was that that they would eliminate two this week to keep it in schedule. But as I'm looking at my calendar right now, if they eliminated one per week (and not two during one of the weeks), the finale would still be able to occur in May (during the last week of that month). I'm not sure how they timed that right, but it looks like it will work out, unless I was counting the weeks wrong (let me know if I did).
See ya on Tuesday when the Top 13 will be on the big stage for the first time.
